Radio antenna



S. K. WEST RADIO ANTENNA Nov. 15, 1938.

Filed Feb. 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l l l l `INII/ENTOR.

BY @d /a MATTO EY Patented Nov. 15, 1938 RADIQ') ANTENNA Samuel K. West, Washington, D. C., assignorof three-eighths to Ben J. Chromy, Washington,

Application February 15, 1937, Serial No. 125,873 l.

' 1s claims. (on 25o- 33) a tubular vantenna adapted to be carried exposed on the surface of a vehicle or craft, said antenna having means for circulating a heated medium therethrough to prevent the formation of ice thereon.

Afurther object of this invention is to provide an antenna of tubular material adapted to be carried exposed on the outside of a A mobile craft or vehicle, said antenna being supported 1 by suitable Virisuiatioi' means at one end thereof having a passage therethrough communicating with the .inside of a cabin of the vehicle or craft for feeding vheated gas, for example, air from said cabin into the tubular antenna. the otherend of the tubular antenna being provided with a device facilitating the drawing or passage provide a tubular Aai'itenna. Vmember having attached tooneof the ends thereof a supply of gas,

the temperature of which is Well above freezing. Other and further objects'of this invention will f be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification and' the claims.

My invention is particularly adapted for use on aircraft which are equipped for radio comniunication-` which must be available for' use vunder all forms of weather conditions. As is well known to aviators, ice forms very readily on various parts of the exterior of the 'ali'- craft, especially when said craft is flying at high altitudes. These ice formations may occur in thesummer as well as in the winter although, of course, they occur more frequently 'in the winter time. A

Ice forming on the antenna may break the 'antenna conducting member or cause it to sag` and sway close to `or in contact with the aircraft fuselage, in cases where the antenna is above the fuselage, or in cases where the antenna is below the fuselage, the ice may cause the antenna to of the heated gas through the tubular antenna. Still a further object of this invention is' to break o and dangle from, or entirely leave, the aircraft.

Furthermore, ice formation on the antenna in= sulators impairs the electrical insulating qualities of the insulators and renders the antenna and the radio communication facilities of the aircraft useless as long as the ice formation exists.- It is the main object of my invention to overcome these diiilculties caused by ice forming i on the 'antenna or parts thereof, f VAs willbe "observed, my invention-.is also'applicable to use on shipsandbats equipped with radio apparatus as well as motor vehicles, trains, aeroplanes and the like.

In accordance with this invention I provide an antenna of tubular material supported by insulators at each end "thereof, at least one of the insulators `being preferably provided with a passage arranged to communicate with the passage through the tubular antenna. A supply of air from the inside of the cabin of the vehicle-or craft is passed through the tubular 'antenna member through the passage formed in the insulator. The air fed through the tubular antenna member from the inside of the cabin is cfa temperature well above freezing, consequently in passing through the tubular'antenna member, this air -will heat the said member and maintain it above freezing temperature or at a sumciently l high temperature toipre'v'ent the usefulness of the antenna 'system from being impaired either "by ice, frost, condensation or the like forming thereon.

, While I have shown the use ofheated air passing through the antenna from the inside of the' aircraft cabin, other gases may be passed through the antenna and various ways of heating the gases.' such as, electrical heating devices, the exhaust gas of combustion engines and the likemay' be employed. v 1

In practice I preferV to draw the heated medium through the antennatube by a suitable device formed on the trailing' end of the antenna,said device being caused to draw air through the an` tenna tube when the aircraft is moving forward. Various ways of drawing air through the antenna tube may be'employed, however, and I do notl therefore desire to limit the 'invention specifically to the embodiments shown. i

Referring to the drawings, briefly, Figure 1 illustrates the application of my radio antenna to aircraft; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of an embodiment Aof my antenna; Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 37-3 of Figure 2;V Figure 4 is a view of a modified form of air drawing device employed at the trailing end of my antenna; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken alongthelinel-Iofligure4z Figure is aview of a cross-section of the insulator supports and liigures'land'laareviewsshowingamodined form of heating arrangement adapted to be used for heating the air stream through the antenna oi' my invention.

In Figure 1 I have shown two antenna arrangements supported on surfac of the aircraft. One such arrangement designated by the reference numeral I3 is shown 'supported on the top of the aircraft II and another arrangement which is the same as the antenna I I and is designated by the reference numeral Ila is supported on the bottom of the aircraft II. Either position may be used as desired, the pomtion used depending upon the wishes of the persons making the insulation. The antenna conductor It is made up of a solid wall tubular member. I2 positioned inside of a braided solid wall tubular member and yis substantially coexnsive therewith. Both the tubular member A I2 and the braided member`|3 are anchored at 35 l from accmnulating or 'formingpnnthe aforesaid vinthebaseoitheinsulatorinsuchaway their leading ends to the insulator support I4 by means of a cap-like member I5 which is threaded to the insulator Il and the braided conductor I3 is sufiiciently anchored at both ends to enable it to support the tube I2 should thelatter become separated into two parts or tend to do so. Where desired the member I3 may be made of non-conducting material, such as, textile cord, twine, and the like, to prevent static electrical charges. caused by dust and other charged particles coming in contact with the metal antenna conductor,

antenna conductor. The forwardend\ofthe insulator I4 is braced by wire Ila to the aircraftas Il and the nut member I3 are` assembled into position upon the aircraft wall II. A conducting wire 22 such as the lead-in I'l is connected to the washer 2| and to the binding post 23 for the purpose of facilitating the connection of the antenna I l to the wire 24 which is connected to the radio apparatus employed in conjunction with the aforesaid antenna. If it is found that the use of the washers 2li and 2l and the binding post 23 introduces undesirable electrical capacities into .the antenna circuit, these washers and binding post may be dispensed with and the lead-in Il, provided with suitable insulation covering, brought down direct through the tube and out of the mouth 26 thereof.

Ihe tube 25, made of metallic or suitable insuiation material, is threaded into the nut member il and is also provided with a tubular member 21 for the purpose of controlling the size of an auxiliary opening or port 28 formed in the 20 ployed on the tube 21 to facilitate rotation of this tube with respect to its supporting tube 25 and to permit the openings 28 formed in the tubes 25 and 21 to be brought either into or out of alignment. Thus the tube 25 may be opened through the opening 23 and air drawn into said tube from the interior of the aircraft cabin without rst passing said air through the lower and electrically heated portion of the tube 25; 'I'he purpose of this opening 23 is to permit' easy control of the heating of the air passing through the antenna system. This heating control may not be so desirable where the air is heated electrically as the operation of the electrical heating unit 29 which ls connected to the electrical generator 30, and is positioned inside of a suitable`insulation casing 3| may be controlled readily. However, where shown in Figure 1. The end I2a of the tube I2 lsmassing through the tube 25 is heated by flanged inside of the cap Il to grip the inner surfaces of this cap and prevent this tube I2 from being drawn out of the cap Il by forces such as are encountered during the normal use of the antenna. 'Ihe braided conductor encircling the tube I2 is held in position inside of the cap I5 by the flange end I2a of this tube. The insulator Il is provided with a passage It therethrough M hewlediconductOr-J-CO :v '-e .n antenna il is passed through this passage. The insulator Il may be made of materials. such as. isolantite, porcelain, synthetic condensation products such as Bakelite and the like, and the body of this insulator is preferably made of a crosssection such as shown in Figure 8 to decrease the air resistance of this support. The baseof the insulator is flanged as illustrated and is-provided with asupporting nut I3 said base. Threads are provided to the insulator base and the nut member may be assembled in engagement with the wall II of the aircraft and hold the antenna firmly upon the aircraft. A grommet It is positionedin a hole formed in the wall II of the aircraft and the threaded nut Il is fitted into theholeinthecenterofthisgrcmmettobe screwed into the threaded base portion` of the insulator Il and draw said base portion against vand firmly i'nto contact with surfaces of said grommet. 'Ihis grommet is sufiiciently resilient to serve as a cushion-like support for the insulator assembly and yet not permit undesirable vibration of the antenna strpcture. The lead-in Il is connected to ametallic washer 2l supported that asimilarwashex-M supportedonthenut lienmesthefmmerwasherliwhentheinmlatcr some other\meanssuch as, a water or exhaust gas heater shown Iin'Figure '.1, in whicwtrol of the heating tained in the heater itse1f,' then the auxiliary vent 23 controlled by a suitable closing device such as tube 2'I, is essential. The heating of the electrical heating unit 28 may be controlled by increasing or decreasing the electric current fed therethrough from the generator 30 by means of a :u 1 rheostat -32 connected in series with l a, c

'I'he air received at the mou i w e 25 is heated by the electrical heater 29 and p through the passage I6 of the insulator Il on into the tubular antenna I0 and is released from the trailing end of the antenna. The passage of the hot air through the antenna is facilitated by the operation of the venturi 33 connected to the trailing end 34 of the antenna member Ill and supported away from the surface of the aircraft I I by the insulator 35. This insulator 35 is also formed of a cross-section, such as shown in Figure 6, to decrease air ristance thereof.

Where desired, a lead-in 38 may be attached to of the air may not be readily ofi ,Y ,"h7, conductorememberfi3`whicl'ris-stretchettoverthe'rtubef2#Amandlellafor-similarndevicejsmg the tube the end 3l of the antenna or adjacent thereto which contacts a similar washer 3l. 'Ihis latter 70 washer 3l is supported by the threaded insulation member 31 which engages the base of the insulator 33 and holds the insulator in position upon the wall Il of the aircraft. A suitable grommet Il o1' rubber orsimilar resilient mate- 75 member i2.

rial is positioned in the hole formed in the wall Il through which the threaded portion oi the member 3l protrudes,v and screws into the base portion of the insulator 3E. The conducting wire The venturi 33 is supported on the insulator by a suitable band 43, the ends of which are heldin engagement with the top portion of the insulator by means of a small bolt M as shown in detail in Figure 3 which is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2. This band i3 engages the venturi 33 substantially along the central portion of said Venturi and also serves to g'ripthe end ida. `of the braided conductor i3 which is stretched over the solid wall tubular The end i3d of the braided conductor i3 and the adjoining portions of the tube it may be soldered or brazed to the strap member d3 and thus held together rigidly. At the same time the venturi 33 may be soldered or brazed to the tube i2 along the inner surfaces of the aforesaid venturi adjacent to said tube. However, where the venturi is made of insulation material such as synthetic resin condensation products, it is supported on the end of the insulator d5 and only the tube l2 and the braided conductor i3 are soldered, braced, or otherwise integrally attached to the .strap 43.

In Figures 4 and 5 I have shown a modified form of apparatus used for drawing the air or other gaseous medium through the tubular antenna. This form of my invention employs a substantially irustro-conical tubular member d5 bulged inthe central part 4E thereof beneath the supporting strap'di attached to the insulator at 35 by means of a bolt M. The trailing end of the antenna is provided with a tubular member il which has formed a bulb-like section 48 therein adjacent to the somewhat constricted mouth a9 thereof. This. tube 41 is welded or otherwise attached to the tubular member vi2 and the braided conductor spider-like arrangement 50 in the insideof the member spaced from the inner walls of the member 45 and positioned so that the bulb-like section 48 is inside ofthe bulged section 4G. This is more clearly illustrated in Figure 5 which is a sectional view taken along theline 55 of Figurev 4. The purpose of this device $5 is to facilitate the drawing of the air or other gaseous medium through the tubular antenna in such a way that heated air from the inside of the aircraft cabin will be caused to pass through the hollow antenna at a suiiicient rate to prevent the formation of ice, frost, and condensation upon the outside of the antenna member.

In Figures 7 and 7a I haveillustrated a. modified form of heating arrangement which may be used to heat the air passing through the tube 25. The form of the heating arrangement shown in Figure 7 employs a tubular member 5l wound in the shape of a helix. around the tube 25. `In the form shown in Figure 7a the tube 25 connected to the antenna is, coiled around the heated tube 5l.` Exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine employed for driving the aircraft or similar vehicle upon which this inven- I3 and is supported by a tion is employed, are passed through the tub 5| and in doing so transmit heat to the tube 25 and the gases being drawn through the latter tube. Hot water from the engine cooling system also may be passed through the tube 5l for the purpose, of heating the air drawn through the tube 25 if desired.

While li have described this invention in detail with respect to certain preferred embodi ments thereof, it is, of course, understood that various modiilcations in the constructional detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of lthis-invention and thereiore I do not desire to limit thisinvention to the exact details described and shown except insofar 'as they may be defined by the claims.

What I claim is as follows: i

l. it radio antenna adapted for use on aircraft, comprising:l a tubular antenna member of electrically conducting material, insulation supporting means for supporting said antenna member, means for fastening said insulation supporting means to the aircraft, a heating device including an auxiliary pipe and insulation means for connecting saidy auxiliary pipe to said tubular antenna, said heating -device adapted to have a gaseous medium to be heated drawn therethrough, and means other than the said heating deviceV for drawing said gaseous medium after it is heated by said heating `device through said tubular antenna member substantially to prevent the formation of ice, frost or condensation on said antenna member detrimental to the operation thereof while said antenna is connectedrto vsaid signaling apparatus in condition for use.

'gaseous medium through said auxiliary pipe and said tubular antenna member, said auxiliary pipe being sufciently closeto the hot exhaust pipe of the engine to absorb enough heat therefrom whereby the gaseous 'medium drawn through said auxiliary pipe and said tubular antenna member is hot enough to prevent ice, frost or condensation on said antenna member detrimental to the operation thereof.

3. A radio antenna comprising: a tubular ann temia member including an elongated electrically conducting tube, said tube being sufficiently rigid to be substantially self-supporting when horizontally suspended, `a pair of substantially vertical insulators for horizontally supporting said antenna member, at least one of said insulators having a passage therethrough communi- Yantenna member on the fuselage of an aircraft extendingiore and aft thereon, means for feeding a supply of gaseous medium having a temperature well above freezing into theleading end of said tubular antenna member and means for sucking said gaseous medium through said tubular member, said last means being attached to the trailing end of said tubular antenna member.

5. A radio antenna comprising: a tubular antenna member of electrically conducting material, insulation supporting means for supporting said antenna member, means for fastening said insulation 'supporting means to a mobile craft to support said antenna longitudinally on said craft, nozzle means for drawing gaseous medium through said antenna, means for fastening said nozzle means at the trailing end of said antenna, and means for feeding a heated gaseous medium into the front end of said tubular antenna member substantially to prevent the formation of ice. frost, or condensation on said antenna member detrimental to the operation thereof.

6. A radio antenna comprising: a tubular antenna member including an elongated electrically conducting tube, said tube being sufilciently rigid to be substantially self-supporting -when horizontally suspended, a pair of substantially vertical insulators for horizontally supporting said antenna member longitudinally on said craft, the front one of said insulators havinga passage therethrough communicating with the passage through said tubular antenna member, nozzle means for drawing gaseous medium through said antenna; means for fastening said nozzle means to the trailing end of said antenna, and means for feeding a heated gaseous medium into said last mentioned insulator and said tubular antenna member substantially to prevent the formation of ice.

frost, or condensation on said antenna member detrimental to the operation thereof.

7. A radio antenna particularly adapted for use on aircraft comprising: a tubular antenna member in the form of an elongated electrically conductive tube, means for supporting said tubularl antenna niember'on the fuselage of an aircraft extending fore and aft thereon, means for feeding a supply of gaseous medium having a temperature well above freezing' into the leading end of said tubular antenna member. a nozzle device for sucking said gaseousmedium through said tubular member, and means for attaching said nozzle tothe trailing end of said tubular antenna member.

8. A radio antenna comprising: a tubular antenna member including an elongated electrically conducting tube and a woven tube-like conductor stretched over said conductive tube, said tube being sufficiently rigid to be substantially 'selfsupporting when horizontally suspended, a pair of substantially vertical insulators for horizontally supporting said antenna member, at least one of said insulators having a e therethrough communicating with the passage through said tubular antenna member. and means for passing a heated gaseous medium through said last mentioned insulator and said tubular antenna member substantially to prevent the 'formation of ice, frost. or condensation on said antenna member detrimental to the operation thereof.

9. A radio antenna particularly adapted for use on aircraft comprising: a tubular antenna member in the form of an elongated electrically conductive tube and a woven tube-like conductor stretched over said conductive tubefmeans for supporting said tubular antenna member on the fuselage of an aircraftextending fore and aft thereon, means for feeding a supply of gaseous medium having a temperature well above freezing into the leading end of said tubular antenna member and means for sucking said gaseous medium through said tubular member. said last means being attached to the trailing end of said tubular antenna member.

.10. A radio antenna for cabin type aircraft comprising: a tubular antenna member of electrically conducting material. insulation supporting means for supporting said antenna member extending fore and aft over the fuselage of said aircraft, means for fastening said insulation supporting means to the walls of said aircraft.

means for transmitting heated gaseous medium ed, a pair of substantially vertical insulators ior` horizontally supporting said antenna member, the front one of said insulators having a passage therethrough communicating with the passage through said tubular antenna member, an auxiliary tube connected to the passage of said last mentioned insulator and extending into the cabin of theaircraft, a'heating device for feeding a heated'gaseous medium through said auxiliary tube and said last mentioned insulator into said tubular 'antenna member and a nozzle attached to the trailing end of said tubular antenna to suck said heated gaseous medium through said antenna as said aircraft is driven, said nozzle functioning to suck sumcient quantities of said heated gaseous medium through said antenna substantially to prevent the formation of ice, frost, or condensation on said antenna mem- Aber detrimental to the operation thereof.

12.*In apparatus of the class described. the combination of a tubular/ antenna member attached to the cabin of an aircraft, means connected to one end of said tubularmember pro- Jecting into and terminating on the inside of the cabin of said aircraft. said tubular member having a passage therethrough for passing atmosphere from the inside of said cabin to the outside` through said passage, a nozzle attached to the outside end of said tubular member for' drawing said atmosphere through said tubular member as said aircraft is driven.

13. In apparatus of the class described. the combination of a tubular' antenna member attached to thecabin of an aircraft. means connected to one end of said tubular member projecting into and terminating on the inside of the cabin of said aircraft, said tubular member having a passage therethrough for passing atmosphere from the inside of said cabin to the outside through said passage. and means attached to the outside end of-said tubular member for drawing said atmosphere through said tubular member as said aircraft is driven.

KSAMUELKWEST. 

